Charlotte Camp Party
Loads of summer camp fun down in Charlotte! Yesterday Sarah traveled down to visit with our Charlotte NC girls, show the new Rockbrook movie and slides from this past summer, and meet some new girls interested in finding out more about camp. Since these camp parties are both mini reunions and information sessions, they are great ways to recharge your Rockbrook Spirit and learn what makes RBC so special.
At the party Sarah saw Katy Beltz, Rhonda Aucamp, Lisa Neely and Kristen Boye— all moms who attended Rockbrook when they were younger. In fact Kristen and Sarah were co-counselors at RBC back in 1992!
A special thanks to the Beltz family for hosting the party. There’s Elizabeth and her two sisters Caroline and Margaret, and Gracie G. and Elizabeth A. too!
Those Charlotte summer camp girls really know how to get excited!
Camp Cabin Life
Occasionally we are asked if Rockbrook provides a day camp in addition to its overnight residential summer camps. Unfortunately, the answer is no; we run only our residential (overnight, sleepaway) programs, which means all of our girls spend the night when they come to camp. In fact, that’s a big part of the overall Rockbrook experience— being away from home, getting to know the other girls in your cabin, doing your share of the cabin chores, and hearing the night sounds of the forest from your bunk. Life in the cabin is for some girls their favorite part of going to a residential camp.
Spending those nights in the cabin with your friends somehow makes everything else at camp more exciting and fun.
Empowering Kids through Camp
Back in July, Nancy Gibbs wrote a short article in Time Magazine called “The Meaning of Summer Camp.” [link] There’s a lot she discusses, but the article’s tagline gets to the heart of it: “It used to be about acquiring survival skills. Now it’s about the social skills that need work.” Parents used to send their kids to summer camp to toughen up a bit, to learn practical outdoor skills. Being away from the “comforts of home” and away from parents’ assistance, made this possible. Now, Gibbs observes, camp is a place for kids to “unplug” and explore life without cellphones, text messaging, and their Facebook accounts. In other words, camp is still a place to break from the familiar, and when faced with new challenges, grow in new ways. Gibbs identifies the social benefits (learning to share, communicate, cooperate and so forth) that follow, but we should add physical (like becoming a stronger swimmer), emotional (like the joy of being completely silly), and psychological (like becoming more confident and self-assured) benefits as well.
Sometimes it’s hard to see this, but all these benefits of camp, not to mention how fun it is, arise because camp is so different from life at home and at school. Preserving that difference is one of the main reasons Rockbrook doesn’t allow cellphones, computers, Internet access, electronic games, and other forms of technology that tether kids to what they have at home. It’s one reason why sneaking a cellphone into camp is a terrible idea. While it may make you feel better, it will dilute, if not destroy, what summer camp is all about.
Camp is a place to acquire new skills and grow up a little while having a great time with your friends. It works because it’s not the same as home, and that’s a good thing.
Dog Trot Summer Camp Cabin
April 18, 2008 by rbc
Filed under summer camp
Where do you stay when you to come to camp?
Rockbrook is a summer residential camp where campers stay in simple wooden cabins. Set with wooden-framed bunk beds, and divided into two sides, most hold 8 campers and 2 counselors. Between the two sides is an area called the “dog trot.” This comes from an early domestic architectural style common in the south where a simple one-room cabin is joined to another small cabin with open space between them, a place for the dogs to trot through. Later this space between the two cabins could be enclosed, given a wooden floor, and an adjoining roof, essentially making one big cabin with two rooms, one to the left and right of a center door. Here’s an article (and photos) describing a dog trot cabin.
The cabins at Rockbrook are enclosed like this. The dog trot area is a place for the campers to hang wet clothes and store things. You’ll always find the cabin broom there for example. It’s neat to think that since the earliest days, Rockbrook girls have been experiencing this little bit of southern tradition.
Camp Philosophy
The other day someone asked about our camp philosophy. We’ve written about it on the “Our Philosophy” page of Rockbrook’s main website, and that page does a good job, but what else should we say? Well, another way to put it is to recall how camp is such a fun and nurturing environment, how by trying new things girls become so much more confident, how by making their own decisions they become that much more independent too. We can remember how easy it is to make friends when you’re not competing with anyone, how living this close to nature is so wonderful, and how refreshing it is to be in the mountains. Camp is one of those rare places where you can just relax and be yourself. Yep, all of this is the basis of our camp philosophy.
It's Archery!
A classic thing to do at sleep away camps— learn archery —and for girls at Rockbrook, it’s very popular. Whether you’re 6, 16 or somewhere in between, using a bow and arrow, and getting good at it, is really fun. A big part of it is learning all of the equipment (e.g., the bows, parts of the arrow like the “fletching,” the protective gear like the “bracer” or “arm guard” and the “tab” or “finger guard”) and then the important shooting techniques and form (like how to aim for example!). But of course, with practice, hitting the bullseye of the target, that inner yellow circle, is the ultimate challenge. Getting a bullseye is also great because then your name is announced in the dining hall, and everyone cheers for you. You’re part of the RBC Bullseye Club! Awesome!
Camp Map NC
November 19, 2007 by rbc
Filed under North Carolina
Here’s a map that Sarah drew of the camp back in 1992. While certainly “not to scale,” it shows the main part of camp, the Rockbrook buildings and cabin areas. There are a couple of important new things not shown on the map, too. Can you name them? What’s missing?P.S. Here’s a link where you can see a satellite view map of the camp!
New Orleans Summer Camp Girls
We had a great time down in New Orleans earlier this month. It was another fantastic Rockbrook Camp party complete with slides from last summer and the all-new video. Seeing current RBC campers and meeting so many new girls interested in attending camp next summer was such fun! Attending these events is the one of the best ways to rekindle that Rockbrook spirit and to learn a bit about what makes Rockbrook unique. It’s a chance to ask questions and to imagine yourself being a part of camp. A big thanks to Shelby (there she is with McKain!) and her family for hosting the party.
